Friends
by RevSue
Summary: Set after the second movie, Mia starts questioning Clarisse about her friendships.
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters since Princess Diaries 1 & 2, and its characters are the property of Disney, Buena Vista, and Meg Cabot. I make no money from this work of fiction._

FRIENDS

"So, darling," Clarisse looked across her desk to Mia who had just come into the office the two queens now shared. "You saw Lilly off at the airport?"

"Yes. I'm really gonna miss her, Grandma," Mia said, slumping into the chair which Charlotte usually occupied.

"I'm sure you will. But you have other friends here ..."

"Not that many, and none as close as Lilly is. I've known her practically forever!"

"Hmmm," Clarisse made a noncommittal noise as she looked back down at the papers on her desk.

"Grandma? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you MAY," Clarisse emphasized the last word, looking up again.

Mia characteristically ignored the gentle correction. "How many friends do you have? REAL friends, I mean. I know you hobnob with all the royalty and the aristocrats of Europe, but did you ever have any REAL friends?"

"Of course I've had friends, Mia. I do believe I already told you that Rupert was my best friend while we were married." Clarisse said simply.

"Doesn't count," Mia replied succinctly.

"Very well, then ... Joseph. He's most definitely my best friend now." was Clarisse's next answer.

"Grandma! I MEANT friends of your own sex!"

"Oh, I see. Hmmm, female friends ... well, there's Charlotte ..."

"CHARLOTTE?"

"Of course. Is there any reason why Charlotte and I should not be friends?" Clarisse asked, rather startled at Mia's astonishment.

"No, but I wouldn't have thought ... hey, let's ask her," Mia said. "I'm curious to see if SHE thinks you two are friends!"

"Oh, Mia ..." But Mia had already sent for Charlotte. Clarisse shook her head and bent to her work again. Mia was a dear child, but prone to distraction!

When Charlotte came into the room, Mia said immediately, "Charlotte, do you consider you and Grandma to be friends?"

Charlotte blinked at the question, then looked at Queen Clarisse and back at Queen Mia. Finally, she nodded, rather timidly. "If her Majesty says ..."

"Okay," Mia agreed, nodding to Clarisse. "I'll concede that you have one friend. Charlotte. But how about someone your own age?"

"Age is merely a matter of mind one might conceivably be friends with all ages. You and I, Charlotte and I, you and Charlotte ..."

"Your list still seems pretty meager to me, Grandma, no matter how many ways you try to stretch it! Charlotte, tell me, if you had to make a list of everyone you consider to be your friend, would we be on it?" Mia asked, intently peering at the other woman she had been growing to know and like more and more in the last few months.

"I, well ... I suppose ..." Charlotte stammered, her face growing red. Why did it seem that Queen Mia could always ask the most embarrassingly direct questions? Was it because she was an American by birth and upbringing?

"REALLY? Charlotte, you're not very good at lying," Mia grinned slyly.

"No, I'm not," Charlotte sighed. "Well, I would LOVE to be able to list the two of you, your Majesty, but to be perfectly honest, I would not presume to ..."

"TOLD you so!" Mia crowed to Clarisse. "Okay, Grandma, do some serious thinking here. What about school? Do you have any friends from school you still see?"

Clarisse frowned in thought. "Well, there is Lady Palimore. Elinor is two years younger than I am, but we were ... friendly, I suppose you could say, in school."

"Nice!" Mia grinned. "I remember seeing her face when I was up at the front of the church ... she was smiling at me and nodding. I'd like to get to know her better. She looks like she could be fun. Do you ever see her now? I mean, obviously you SEE her, but do you ever just hang out together?"

"Hang out?" Clarisse looked blank.

Charlotte smothered a smile, and began edging towards the door. It seemed she was no longer needed, and she thought she should make her escape before Queen Mia fired another question her way. And yet, she was glad the younger queen was making Queen Clarisse talk about such things. She had always felt that the former queen had been very alone and lacking in deep friendships with other women.

"You know, do fun things, crazy things with her. Lilly and I have done a lot of wild things like going to a mall when there's a sale, and pretending we don't know each and both grabbing at the same item and fighting over it loudly." She grinned at the remembrance.

"Mia, you didn't!" Clarisse remonstrated.

"Of course we did, and more than once, too. And it was lots of fun. Did you and Elinor ever do anything like that?"

"Certainly not."

"NEVER? Not even when you were little?"

Clarisse sighed. "I knew my place, Mia, even when I was a young child."

"You never did anything wrong?"

Charlotte, having gained the door without being noticed, now stealthily opened it, slipped out, and closed it softly behind herself before taking a deep breath.

"I didn't say that," Clarisse looked back at her papers.

Mia leaned over the desk eagerly, blocking Clarisse's view of her work. "What was something you and Elinor did that you shouldn't have?"

Leaning back, Clarisse gave in to her grand-daughter. She thought for a moment. "Well, we had a whistling contest once."

"A WHISTLING contest? What's wrong with that?"

"Our parents and teachers continually quoted the maxim 'A whistling girl and a barking dog come to no good end.' We were actually taught that whistling was forbidden for girls. One day, Elinor and I were experimenting, whistling different songs and trying to guess what the other was whistling. Then Elinor dared me to do that loud whistle ... you know, the one with the fingers? I did it. I was sent home in disgrace, and haven't done much whistling since, I'm afraid."

"You could DO that? Can you still?"

"Mia, I haven't tried for fifty years!"

"Try! Please?" Mia looked pleadingly at her.

Clarisse considered it, then smiled. "Very well." Without further ado, she let out a whistle which echoed through the palace.

Charlotte came rushing back in, her eyes wide, followed by the footmen and guards from the doorway. Mia was convulsed in laughter but Clarisse was calmly looking at everyone with an inquiring expression on her face.

"Yes?" Clarisse arched a delicate eyebrow.

The footmen and guards cleared their throats, then backed out of the room again.

"Your Majesty?" Charlotte looked from one to the other. "Your Majesty ... who did that?" Charlotte finally asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Mia, still laughing, pointed to Clarisse. When she could get her breath back, she asked, "Can you teach me to do that, Grandma?"

"I don't think so," was the quiet response, but Clarisse's eyes were sparkling. She began to whistle a few songs, then the Genovian national anthem, then, at Mia's urging, she let out a loud wolf whistle just as Joseph and Shades burst in the door.

The men both stopped dead, and Mia and Charlotte collapsed in laughter at the disconcerted look on the men's faces, as well as on Clarisse's! Then Joseph grinned and said smoothly, "As it doesn't appear that there is an emergency here, I must conclude that the hoyden Clarisse has finally returned after years of suppression!"

"Joseph!" Clarisse frowned at him.

When Mia could finally get her breath back, she said, "Were you really a hoyden, Grandma?"

"I suppose I could have been called that, on occasion. Not often, though. With my station in life, and as the future queen, well, I've always been very aware of my duty."

"If a hoyden is someone who whistles, I guess you're STILL one!" Mia grinned.

Shades and Charlotte left the members of the royalty to continue discussing friendship and whether or not 'the queen' had a certain reputation to uphold and a placement on a pedestal. Charlotte grinned to herself as she walked beside the disgruntled Head of Security. The men had obviously been caught as unaware as SHE had been by the discussion and the actions of the two queens!

Mia argued that Elinor could still be Clarisse's friend, even if she knew all of Clarisse's secrets. "She has obviously kept them this long!"

"Oh, she would have long forgotten those days, I'm sure. No, sad to say, Mia, but a queen is naturally set apart from the others in the country."

"Is there a LAW to that effect?"

"No, no law," Clarisse was slightly taken aback. "No, of course not! It's just, well, people look up to us, and we have to hold to a different standard of behaviour."

"You said that before to me. When I lost it at the garden fete a few months ago."

"And I believe I also told you queens are not supposed to lose it but rather FIND it! Mia, you'll find that being a queen can mean that there will be times when you'll be lonely and feeling very isolated indeed. You have to be strong and sure of yourself to survive with your spirits intact. Of course," and Clarisse smiled warmly at Joseph and tucked her hand in his, "it helps to have a good friend at your side, WHATEVER sex that friend may be."

"Aw, gee, Grandma, and I thought you and Joe LOVED each other. Back to that fondness and friendship stuff already? Is the honeymoon over?" Mia teased the two.

Clarisse ignored her. She mused, "I remember one masquerade ball when I was seventeen when I acted QUITE out of character for me. Only one friend, Elinor, as it happens, ever knew. I haven't thought of that in YEARS! Elinor and I both loved dancing, so we snuck out of school to attend a masquerade ball."

"You SNUCK out?"

"Of course. We had been forbidden to go, but we were both rather headstrong in those days."

"You haven't changed much, have you?" murmured Joseph wryly.

Flashing him a smile, Clarisse continued, "We had a marvellous time! Why, after dancing all night with the same boy, not knowing who he was and knowing he never knew who I was, I even kissed him in the moonlight ..."

"Grandma, too cool!" Mia said admiringly. "And he never knew who you really were?"

"Not to my knowledge." Clarisse's eyes were clouded with memories of that kiss in a garden so long ago.

Joseph cleared his throat. "Oh, he knew, Clarisse. Believe me, he knew." he said softly.

The two queens looked at him. "What do you mean?" Clarisse asked blankly.

"Why do you think I fell in love with you and loved you for so long?" Joseph grinned. "I was the mystery boy!"

"Awesome!" Mia breathed.


	2. Part Two

Chapter Two Friends 

Excited by the thought that her grandmother and Joe had actually met and KISSED long ago and that her grandmother had never realized that until Joe's confession, Mia decided another ball was in order. To be precise, a masquerade ball. She proposed that it be held following the upcoming Pear-Picking Festival, and that it be a masquerade ball to which everyone in Genovia who was willing to dress in costume was invited. Although Clarisse demurred at first, and Charlotte blanched at the thought of the work involved, the other two women were soon persuaded to help Mia organize the massive undertaking in just two short weeks. Mia suggested right at the beginning that her grandmother contact Elinor Palimore and enlist her help, which would have the added benefit of renewing their friendship. "She really looks like she'd be a lot of fun ... I think she'd love to be friends with you again, Grandma. And she probably knows a lot about entertaining, too!" 

"Mia, one simply does not call up another person begging for help to entertain! It just is not done." Clarisse said firmly. "The three of us can manage quite well with the help of the palace staff." 

Mia watched her grandmother closely, wondering if Clarisse WOULD contact Elinor Palimore, but she never saw it happen. Unbeknownst to her grand-daughter, Clarisse herself found that she couldn't get Mia's suggestion out of her mind. More and more she wondered what Elinor would say should Clarisse get in touch and suggest they meet not to help plan the masquerade ball, but rather for a cup of tea and a discussion about old times. Clarisse had to battle many an inner stern voice telling her that a queen was set apart from her subjects and should never attempt to get on intimate terms with any of them for fear that respect for the royalty and the prestige of the crown would in any way be compromised. Joseph knew something was up, but was not quite sure what it was. 

One afternoon, just the day before the masquerade ball, Joseph caught a determined look on Clarisse's face, followed by a shy smile mixed with exultation and an almost disbelieving air about her. The last time he had seen that exact expression on her face had been when she had gathered all her courage and asked him to marry her. "So, my darling," he said, eying her intently, "what are you up to now?" 

"Up to?" Clarisse asked innocently. 

"Mmhmm," Joseph's smile grew wider. "You have that certain look about you that says you are planning to do something and you are not quite sure your parents would approve." 

"My PARENTS?" 

He chuckled and drew her close for a long kiss. Then he tapped her nose with his finger lightly. "You, my dear Clarisse, are planning to slide back into your hoyden days!" 

"A queen NEVER slides," was Clarisse's comment, but her smile was lovely and she kissed him once more before disentangling herself from his arms and going to the phone. "Now, will you please tell me how to get in touch with Elinor Palimore?" 

"You COULD ask Charlotte, you know," Joseph said. 

"Charlotte is not here but YOU are, darling." Clarisse shamelessly feigned helplessness and Joseph sighed heavily and theatrically. 

"If I must ..." He shook his head, a grin tugging at his lips. "You have planned what you are going to say to her?" He picked up the telephone and handed it to her, beginning to dial the palace switchboard for the number. 

"Wait!" Clarisse dropped the phone back on the hook, a look of panic on her face. "What WILL I say? She won't even be answering her own telephone, will she?" 

"Not likely," was Joseph's agreeable reply. 

Clarisse chewed her lip for a moment in uncharacteristic indecision, then finally said, "I'll write her a note inviting her to tea. By the time she comes, I'll have figured out what to say!" 

Now that her decision had been made, Clarisse lost no time in penning a quick note to Lady Palimore. As she signed her name simply Clarisse, she smiled up at Joseph. "You know, when I sent her a letter once, soon after my betrothal to Rupert, I ended it with a joke we had started while in school. I'm very tempted to put that in here. I haven't thought of it in years!" 

"What?" 

"I signed it, 'an old friend'," Clarisse chuckled. "Then crossed out the 'old' and substituted 'mature', then crossed out 'mature' and substituted 'experienced', then 'time-honoured', then 'dateless', then 'senior', then 'ripe', then 'mellow', then 'venerable', and finally crossed THAT out and wrote once more 'an OLD friend'." 

"So why don't you?" 

"Because it's not something a queen would write to the wife of a parliamentarian!" 

"But it DOES sound like something a woman would write to a dear friend. An old friend," Joseph said, kissing the top of her head softly then going to the door of her office. "And I do believe she will read it and know that her school friend Clarisse has returned." He went out, shutting the door behind himself. 

Clarisse stared after him for a moment, her thoughts swirling. What would Elinor say when she read it? If she came, what would she say in person? Would Clarisse find it as easy to talk with her as it used to be so many years ago? For the first time, Clarisse deeply regretted not keeping up the friendship. What if Elinor had changed, and they no longer thought the same way? What if she, herself, had changed, and found her memories could not be renewed? Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they said! Clarisse quickly wrote the long-forgotten ending, sealed the note and sent it off. 

She was delighted to receive Elinor's response within an hour ... in the form of the woman herself! Clarisse, Mia and Charlotte were pouring over the final plans for the masquerade when Lady Palimore was announced. 

"I couldn't wait even until this afternoon," the visitor smiled, curtseying to Mia and Clarisse and nodding pleasantly to Charlotte. "I know it's very bad form, but I was anxious to see if my old friend had indeed remembered HER old friend at last! It appears so from the note I received today!" 

"Oh, Elinor!" Clarisse rose, her smile wavering somewhat as guilt swept over her. Had Elinor truly seen it as Clarisse having forgotten their friendship? 

Mia stood up, too. "Charlotte and I were just leaving," she said, hastily. "We'll send up some tea and sandwiches, if you like?" 

"Thank you, Mia," Clarisse said warmly, noting Charlotte's startled then understanding expression as she stood as well. 

When Clarisse and Elinor were alone, they stood in silence for a moment, just looking at one another. When she was recounting the events of the visit to Joseph later, Clarisse was rather surprised to realize that the silence hadn't been at all uncomfortable. Both women had studied the other, trying to find traces of the youthful friends they had been. Elinor's irrepressible nature was revealed in the twinkle in her eyes and the ease with which she adapted to the new situation. When the tea and sandwiches arrived promptly, Clarisse motioned over to the sofa and, once they were alone again, she busied herself pouring the tea, not quite sure where to start the conversation. As it turned out, Elinor was more than willing to do the honours there. 

"Tell me, Clarisse, what made you remember me?" she asked bluntly. 

"I always remembered you," Clarisse protested. "I just, well ..." 

"I'm sorry," now Elinor looked contrite. "I shouldn't have worded it quite so forcefully. It's just, well, after last month ... I've been DYING to speak with you! I want to hear all about your romance with Joseph! I've heard the rumours and discounted them, because I know you. You would never have dreamt of betraying your husband OR Genovia by having an illicit affair. But once you were free, well ... I saw you dancing with Joseph quite often at all the state functions for the last five years, of course, and I noticed he never once danced with anyone else. So tell me, HAS he been in love with you forever, or just since you've been able to return his love? IS it true that you told him just two days before you married him that he was not to think of you that way again? I've heard he had actually resigned and was planning to leave Genovia! But something happened, obviously something to do with your grand-daughter since she used the security guards' device to talk to someone, and next thing we knew, you and Joseph were walking up the aisle and getting married!" 

"Elinor, I must admit I had forgotten THIS part of your personality." Clarisse finally managed to get a word in edgewise, knowing Elinor would keep asking questions and talking until she interrupted. How COULD she have ignored their friendship all these years, yet still know and truly like the essentials about the other woman? 

"Which part?" asked Elinor, surprised. 

"The NOSY part!" 

"Well, you know what they say. Old friends are the best since they know all about you, but they can't remember it," was Elinor's quick, teasing retort. 

The two old friends began to chuckle, and it was as if the years slipped away and they were once more teenagers with a brilliant future ahead of them. Family commitments, duties and responsibilities, personal circumstances faded and the women embarked on a voyage of do-you-remember's and periods of laughter which occupied them until the sandwiches were all gone and the teapot was quite empty. 

By the time Lady Palimore left the presence of Queen Clarisse, everyone in the palace was aware that a deep and abiding friendship had been re-established. Elinor had heard all about Joseph's confession that he had been the 'mystery boy' at the masquerade ball so long ago, and had realized instantly that that was why Mia had wanted to have another masquerade. They brought each other up to date on some of the inner feelings each had suspected but neither had ever mentioned before. Mia and Joseph had been asked to join the two for afternoon tea, as well as Lord Palimore who had invaded the palace in search of his wife. 

Clarisse had often wondered privately just what Elinor had seen in the gruff Lord who was quite a bit older than she was, because it had long been obvious that the two were deeply in love despite the age difference and the fact that their marriage had been arranged. Now, over a rather informal cup of tea, Clarisse realized that Tom, as he had requested she call him, was the perfect foil for Elinor, and adored his lovely wife. He had a sense of humour which delighted Clarisse, making her fervently wish she had renewed contact with Elinor years ago. She wasn't sure she had been the same person when married to Rupert, however, knowing she had locked up her personal feelings deep inside and only showing a carefully-constructed facade to everyone around her. Perhaps it was just as well Elinor had come back into her life after first Mia and then Joseph had drawn Clarisse out of herself. 

When it came time to get ready for the masquerade ball, Joseph couldn't believe that Clarisse wasn't telling him how she was planning to dress, and that she didn't want to see him beforehand either. 

"The whole point of it all is that it's a mystery," she explained, and Mia agreed wholeheartedly. 

In spite of his complaints, Joseph was turned out of their suite of rooms and sent to dress in his old room which no one had taken over. He wasn't the only one complaining about the arrangements for the ball. Charlotte had been horrified when Mia had told her to be sure SHE was dressed as well. 

"Your Majesty, it ... it just isn't DONE! I should not be in costume ..." 

"Charlotte, I SAID this masquerade is for everyone, and it IS! It'll be like Hallowe'en, all that dressing up!" 

"We don't do that in Genovia." 

"Well, this year you will be. Dressing up, that is. A little EARLY for Hallowe'en, granted, but still fun. Make sure you're wearing something that disguises you so completely that no one knows who you are!" 

"If you don't know who I am, I could just skip the ball and you'd never notice," was Charlotte's quiet comment. 

"Charlotte, don't you DARE!" Mia had exploded before seeing the twinkle in her assistant's eye. "Oh, you!" 

Because it was a masquerade and necessary to keep identities a secret, neither Mia nor Clarisse were to be announced at this ball. Most people arrived singly, although some came in groups. Costumes were many and varied, showing such imagination that Clarisse was amazed at the diversity when she arrived at the door of the ballroom. She adjusted her veil, hoping fervently that no one would recognize her in such an audacious costume. She was counting on the fact that people would not expect her, a former queen always portraying impeccable taste and dignity, to be dressed as a harem girl clad in a shimmering light blue outfit, with the sheer arms, voluminous sheer pantaloons, and a tight silk bodice and panties. Her slippers, which turned up at the toes, were a darker shade of blue, and had bells on the toes. Bangles around both arms also sported bells. A gauzy headpiece, to which was attached the silky veil which covered her face from ear to ear and fell from just below her eyes down past her chin, also had yards of material which was strategically swathed about her head and figure to give her added security. But the best part of all was the wig ... black curls which fell to her waist, completely altering her look. She was almost positive no one would recognize her, and, carrying the memory of her mirrored image which she had hardly recognized herself, she sailed forth into the ballroom, determined to act in a very different manner so that no one would guess her identity. 

After a few moments of greeting people, commenting on their costumes and receiving compliments on her own, Clarisse became aware of a rather large figure at her side. Turning, she saw someone in the rich, flowing ceremonial robes of the Prime Minister. His face was hidden by a half-mask, but beneath it Clarisse saw his black goatee and moustache, and certainly his impressive girth could not have been hidden. She wondered at the wisdom of wearing his own robes, but shrugged it off when he offered her his hand for a dance, without saying a word. 

Accepting the invitation with a demure lowering of her eyelashes, Clarisse put her hand in his and they began to dance. With her hand on his shoulder, Clarisse was somewhat puzzled. Why was Sebastian Motaz dancing a little differently, not nearly as smoothly as he usually did? Was it to throw her off? Why did it seem that her hand was not in the same place it USUALLY was when dancing with him. 

He drew her a little closer in an awkward way, asking "Why the little frown?" At the same time, his hand on her waist began to move just slightly, almost caressingly. 

Clarisse drew in a sharp breath. How DARE he? She raised her eyes to meet his, then hers widened. As they slowly turned, his thumb stroked her hand he was holding in the air. All of a sudden, Clarisse relaxed, but the frown remained. "How did you DO this? I AM impressed at your ingenuity!" 

"And I am willing to kill anyone who looks sideways at you. You are beautiful tonight, my dear!" 

"How did you recognize me?" she demanded in a whisper. 

"Ah! The way you recognized me. Your eyes." 

"Oh, I see. So you came up to a strange woman ..." 

"A beautiful woman," he interjected. 

"An UNKNOWN woman," she corrected him, "asked her to dance and then touched her so familiarly ..." 

"I touched my wife," Joseph chuckled. 

"You knew THEN?" she was incredulous. 

"By your walk. By your carriage. By the tilt of your hand and head. By your indefinable essence that makes you a queen ... MY queen ... queen of my heart and home." Then he stumbled and caught himself, and muttered, "Damn lifts on these shoes make it almost impossible to dance gracefully!" 

Clarisse, who had caught her breath in delight at the beginning of his explanation, now erupted into silvery laughter at his plight. So THAT was how he had made himself so tall! And he must have padded himself considerably, as well as blackening his facial hair and wearing a toupee. 

Then the Archbishop tapped Joseph's shoulder. A rather shorter Archbishop than Clarisse remembered, this one not much taller than herself. She tried to see beneath the man's mask, but to no avail. She smiled and accepted his gloved hand and they began dancing. 

While dancing, Clarisse took the opportunity to look around and try to recognize people she knew. After only a few moments, she recognized her grand-daughter when Cinderella dressed in rags and covered with soot tripped over her own feet and fell against a flower vase, sending that crashing to the floor. Then she recognized the ever-faithful Charlotte as the lovely princess who flew over to rescue the fallen damsel and order the mess cleaned up. Clarisse grinned. Now if she could only recognize Elinor ... 

Her eyes continued to search for her friend as she danced with a pirate, then a monk, then a bear. Surely Elinor wouldn't be too difficult to spot! She had said she'd be wearing white and gold, but she wouldn't give any more details than that. Of course, Clarisse had only revealed that she would be wearing blue, so she couldn't fault the other woman. Still, so MANY of the costumes were white and gold! 

Then Mia had the majordomo bang his cane and announce a whistling contest. Clarisse rolled her eyes. Why would Mia do something so silly? However, like all the others who could whistle, she lined up for her turn. Most of the whistlers were average, unable to whistle more than a couple of notes or sustain them for any length of time. Eventually, however, the field was narrowed down to two ... Clarisse and the "Archbishop". Mia kept giving out commands for harder and harder whistles, and both managed it. 

While the 'Archbishop' was whistling the Genovian National Anthem, Clarisse suddenly realized just who "he" was. Elinor! Elinor happened to catch Clarisse's eye at that point, and Clarisse winked at her, and the last line of the song died out as Elinor began to laugh. Mia then turned to Clarisse and asked her to whistle the anthem all the way through. If she could manage it, she would win. 

Knowing she would fail if she looked at anyone who knew her Joseph who was hovering near, Mia and Charlotte, who had caught on partway through the whistling, and Elinor Clarisse closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and began. As the last clear note died away, the crowd erupted into cheers, and Clarisse had to take repeated bows, as did Elinor as the runner up. 

When Mia announced that it was now time for the unmasking, Clarisse was still flushed from her triumph in the whistling, and she had forgotten about her costume. She pulled the veil from her face as Elinor took off her mask, and for a moment there was a stunned silence as everyone looked at the two women. Lady Palimore was known immediately, of course, but it wasn't until Mia hugged Clarisse and said, "Isn't Grandma an AMAZING whistler?" that Clarisse was recognized. Then the applause was thunderous again. All around, people were laughing and congratulating each other on the wonderful costumes. Mia's masquerade ball had been a complete success! 

When it came time for people to go home, Tom and Elinor were among the first to leave. Joseph and Clarisse walked with them out to the front, where they found a gentle rain coming down. 

"Don't come out, your Majesty!" Tom tried to insist, but Clarisse shook her head at him. 

"It's all right, neither Joseph nor myself will melt. Besides, the wigs are protecting our heads!" 

"Maybe you need a cold shower after tonight!" Elinor whispered, and Clarisse frowned at her then laughed. 

The limo was waiting, and the two couples went down the steps, oblivious to the rain. At the car door, Elinor and Clarisse looked at each other again, and smiled. Clarisse said, "We HAVE to see each other more often." 

"We do, indeed," Elinor agreed. "I can't believe our friendship is almost as strong as it ever was!" 

"I know. We still laugh, know each other's thoughts ..." 

"... and recognize each other's whistling!" put in Elinor with a laugh. 

"Despite all the years that have gone. I AM sorry I wasted them, Elinor," Clarisse clasped her friend's hand. 

"Friendship is never a waste, Clarisse, and I knew we'd revive our friendship one day. We need our love, but true friends are, well, special, aren't they?" With a final hug, Elinor got into the limo after her husband and waved farewell. 

(NOT to be continued!) 


End file.
